Skip to main content
A CALL TO RETURN


“‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” Joel 2:12-13 NIV

One of the many good things of following the church calendar is, it helps us to check and stay in tune with God, to stay in God’s story!

Ash Wednesday is  day of repentance, marking the 6 weeks of preparation for Easter, the Resurrection. The Scripture text today serves as God’s call for all His people: “return to me with all your heart ... rend your heart and not your garment...” 

It’s not just a fashion to put ashes on foreheads before going to school or work although it’s a good practice to remind us of our mortality, “from ashes we come to ashes we shall return”. The ashes, as symbol, also help to strengthen our desire to repent/return to God. 

It’s not merely fasting and restrain ourselves from many worldly luxury... “rend your heart not your garment” (your appearance or outward expressions.) 
Ash Wednesday is a heart business, it’s a matter between “me and God” no one else, not even the church. Because when we set our heart aright with God, others (marriage, family, work, social life, and so on) will fall into place.

So, what is there in the heart of our heart? What have I stored in my heart and where do I anchor my heart? Like the loving Father in the story of the prodigal son, God is waiting for us to return to Him, to anchor our hearts in His heart! Joel reminded us “God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Instead of calamity, Today, God is sending out His grace and love to lull us back to Him. Let’s not harden our hearts! Let’s return to God with all our hearts! ~plt060319



#pltwrites #ashwednesday #BookofJoel #returntoGod #repentance #ashestoashes #ChurchCalendar

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elok Rupa vs Elok Hati

oleh: Pdt. Dr. The Paw Liang  Seandainya Musa tidak cantik….. Tuhan mendengar seruan dan tangisan bangsa Israel di Mesir. Tuhan berbelas kasihan dan memutuskan untuk menghentikan penderitaan mereka. IA merencanakan dan mempersiapkan rencananya, Musa dipakai untuk melepaskan bangsaNya. Apakah Musa dipilih dari sekian banyak bayi laki-laki yang lahir atau kah memang sudah direncanakan oleh Tuhan sebelum Musa lahir bahwa pemimpin ini akan lahir dari suku Lewi, dari keluarga Amran dan Yokhebed. Ketika Musa lahir, Alkitab mencatat, “Ketika dilihatnya, bahwa anak itu cantik, disembunyikannya tiga bulan lamanya. (Kel 2:2). Harun, abang Musa lahir sebelum Firaun mengeluarkan dekrit untuk membunuh bayi-bayi laki-laki Ibrani. Harun tiga tahun lebih tua dari Musa, adakah bayi lain yang lahir di antara mereka berdua? Tidak ada kepastian dalam hal ini. Namun sepertinya ada penekanan, “ketika dilihatnya, bahwa anak itu cantik …” tidak tega orang tuanya membunuhnya, maka disembunyikanlah bayi ini t
3 comments
Read more
DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL? “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘ Do you want to get well?’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘G et up! Pick up your mat and walk. ’” ‭‭John‬ ‭5:6, 8‬ ‭NIV Do you want to get well? Jesus cares! He sees each and everyone of us. He cares to know us. He saw the crippled at the pool of Bethesda! He knew his struggle! And He sees you and me—He sees our struggles! His mercy comes to us even before we come and cry out to Him! He asked, ‘Do you want to get well?’ His grace heals far better than our human cures! Certainly much better than the cure of the pool of Bethesda! Do you want to get well? God wants to, not just cancel our sins! But, in the words of Charles Wesley, He also wants to “break the power of cancelled sin.” What are some power of cancelled sin that still crippling you? Do you want to get well—physically, emotionally, and spiritually? Jesus says, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and wal
Post a Comment
Read more
Cuma itu yang bisa saya lakukan, hanya kehadiran saja Saya jadi teringat: Musa meminta kepada Tuhan, " if your presence (kehadiran) does not go with us, do not send us from here " ( jika Engkau sendiri tidak membimbing kami, janganlah menyuruh kami pergi dari tempat ini" (Kel 33:15) Kesibukan hidup menjadikan " kehadiran" menjadi sesuatu yg sulit kita berikan kepada orang lain, keluarga ( suami, istri, anak-anak, cucu2, atau orang tua) dan bahkan kepada Allah. Ironis, sama seperti Musa kita merindukan kehadiran Allah (hadiratNya) - kehadiran Roh Nya. Namun, apakah kita juga hadir di hadapanNya?  Ketika kita beribadah, baik sendiri maupun bersama-sama di gereja, apakah kita hadir di hadiratNya? secara jiwa, raga, hati, dan akal  budi? (Mar 12:30). Di hadapan orang-orang yang kita kasih? Ketika secara fisik kita hadir pun, perlu kita cek apakah Jiwa dan hati kita juga hadir di sana? Fenomena sekarang, ketika fisik sudah
1 comment
Read more